CURRENT AFFAIRS 15/12/2017

CURRENT AFFAIRS 15/12/2017

1. Winter Session of Parliament Begins

i. The winter session of Parliament begins with Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging all political parties to extend co-operation for smooth conduct and pressing for a "national consensus" on the issue of simultaneous elections in the country.

ii. This year's Winter Session of the Parliament will end on 5th January 2018 has only 14 proposed settings. As per government data available, 14 sittings is the lowest for any winter session since 1999.

2. 14th Inclusive Finance India Summit Begins in New Delhi

i. The 14th Inclusive Finance India Summit began in New Delhi to build consensus on strategies and a unified vision for achieving universal financial inclusion in India.

ii. The summit offers a platform for a plethora of information to all the thought leaders and industry veterans to debate and discuss the issues and challenges involving the Financial Inclusion in the country.

3. 4th India-Australia-Japan Trilateral Dialogue Held in New Delhi

i. Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar hosted the 4th India-Australia-Japan Trilateral Dialogue with Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia Ms. Frances Adamson and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Mr. Shinsuke J. Sugiyama, in New Delhi.

ii. The three sides highlighted the growing convergence of their respective countries’ interests in the Indo-Pacific region and underscored their shared commitment to peace, democracy, economic growth and a rules-based order in the region.

4. 11th WTO Ministerial Conference Held in Argentina

i. The Eleventh World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC11) took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Conference was chaired by Minister Susana Malcorra of Argentina. Indian Delegation was led by Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu. 

ii. Key Highlights of the conference-

1. Three proponent groups announced new initiatives to advance talks at the WTO on the issues of electronic commerce, investment facilitation, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

2. The European Union contributed EUR 1 million (over CHF 1.2 million) to improve the trading capacity of developing countries and to help them play a more active role in trade negotiations.

3. The United Kingdom government announced at the WTO’s Ministerial Conference with a commitment of £16 million (around US$ 21.3 million) to 51 of the world’s poorest countries.

4. For the first time in the history of the WTO members and observers have endorsed a collective initiative to increase the participation of women in trade. 

5. Union Cabinet Clears Bill Criminalising Instant Triple Talaq

i. The Union Cabinet cleared the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, or the Triple Talaq bill, which makes the practice a non-bailable offense. The bill proposes a three-year jail term for men who practice instant Triple Talaq.

ii. Under the draft law, triple talaq in any form - spoken, in writing or by electronic means such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp - would be banned or illegal.

6. Indian Diaspora is Largest in the World: World Migration Report 2018

i. The Indian diaspora is the largest in the world, with over 15 million migrants from India living abroad, according to the World Migration Report 2018 published by the International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations migration agency. World's 3 largest diasporas- India Mexico and Russia.

ii. India also receives the highest amount in remittances ($68.91 billion). The largest migration corridor is from India to UAE, where 3.5 million Indians were residing in 2015.

iii. The United States remained the top destination for migrants in the world in 2015, with 46.6 million migrants moving to the US in that year. 

7. Michael Jordan, World's Highest-Paid Athlete of All Time

i. In the latest list released by Forbes, Michael Jordan has been named as the highest-paid athletes of all time. The 54-year-old has a whopping $1.7 billion in the bank.

ii. Former world number one golfer Tiger Woods is standing at the second spot. Late America golfer Arnold Palmer is at No.3 with incredible $1.4 billion to his name.

8. WPI Inflation at 8-month High of 3.93% in November

i. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) accelerated to an eight-month high of 3.93% in November, from 3.59% in October. Data released showed that retail inflation unexpectedly jumped to a 15-month high of 4.88% in November, and industrial production slowed to 2.2% in October.

ii. WPI-based inflation rose mainly on account of a sharp increase in fuel and food prices, according to data released by the commerce ministry.

9. Google Opens 1st Machine Learning Research Lab in Asia with ‘Google AI China Center’

i. In an apparent move to rebuild its presence in China, Google announced that it will open a research lab focused on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Beijing, China. It will be its first such center in Asia.

ii. The "Google AI China Centre" will join the other AI research groups that the company has in other parts of the world, including in New York, Toronto, London, and Zurich. Focused on basic AI research, the lab will consist of a team of AI researchers in Beijing, supported by the company's engineering teams.

10. SBI Starts State Bank Rewardz Scheme

i. The State Bank of India has introduced a loyalty program for its valued customers. This program is called as State Bank Rewardz, the program gives the customers several opportunities to earn reward points and earn many times faster at Max Get More partner outlets.

ii. State Bank Rewardz is the enterprise-wide loyalty program for State Bank customers that awards them with reward points for various transactions across many banking services.

11. RBI Imposes Rs 3 crore Penalty on IndusInd Bank

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed Rs 3 crore penalty on IndusInd Bank for breaching rules on income classification norms.

ii. As per the RBI Statement, the penalty was imposed after the regulator observed violation of various regulations issued by the RBI on non-performing loans and extension of non-fund based limits.

12. RBI Imposes Restrictions on Corporation Bank as its Bad Loans Crosses 10%

i. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed certain restrictions on Corporation Bank on carrying out banking activities as its share of bad loans rose sharply. The RBI has triggered prompt corrective action (PCA) against it in view of high non-performing loans and requirement to raise capital.

ii. This makes Corporation Bank eighth bank to face restriction in a span of 10 months. Corporation Bank's net non-performing loans cross 10% and it reported losses of Rs 1035 crore in the second quarter ending 2017.

13. Lucknow's Jitesh Singh Deo Named Mr. India 2017

i. Jitesh Singh Deo from Lucknow was declared the winner of the 2017 Mr. India pageant which was held in Mumbai. Indian footballer Prathamesh Maulingkar won the title of Mr. India Supranational and will compete at Mr. Supranational 2018.

ii. Abhi Khajuria was declared the first-runner. Actress Kangana Ranaut felicitated the winners. Jitesh competed with 15 other contestants to grab the coveted title.

14. Sachin Siwach Named ABC’s Best Youth Boxer

i. World youth champion Sachin Siwach was named the Asian Boxing Confederation’s best youth boxer of the year 2017 after winning an online poll conducted by the continental body. Siwach polled 36.2 % votes in this category.

ii. Siwach claimed the Asian youth championships silver this year besides a gold at the Youth Commonwealth Games. India also fetched the Best Asian International Technical Official (ITO) award with Lenny D’Gama winning the online poll. D’Gama polled 45.5%.